Slave to the Gun
by Guardian Saturn
Summary: A young woman searches for the one person who can answer the question of her origin..you guessed it, Vash is called up once again!
1. Prologue

Prologue:  
  
This is a story about a journey. My journey. My journey in order to find answers about a mystery to me. Yes, yes, I'm sure you've all heard these kinds of stories. You know, the ones where it's a person who doesn't know their past but goes in search to find it. Yeah, it's one of those kinds of stories. But I'm not in search of a past. I'm in search of a mark and it's meaning.  
  
My name is Eleia Alexine. I'm what you would call a bad seed in this world's soil. This planet has dubbed me a 'problematic humanoid', so you know there's a bounty on my head. No, nothing major but there is a warrant for my arrest. Though I don't see why, it's not like I've ever done anything so incredibly horrible, but here I am. I'm not a serious criminal, sure I've killed a few people but I'll never live up to the man clad in the red coat. You know who I mean, don't you? The Humanoid Typhoon, the man claimed a natural disaster, come on, you know you've heard of him. Yes, I mean Vash the Stampede.  
  
But enough rambling about my semi-nonexistent criminal record. This is a story about a journey to find out what a mark means. And when I say mark I mean like a tattoo and other such things like that. I won't be telling this story though.  
  
No, it won't be from my point of view. If it was then you wouldn't get the whole story. You'd see what I saw and trust me; I didn't see a lot of things. So please, sit back and enjoy this little tale.  
  
See ya at the end, cowboy. 


	2. Headin' Out

Chapter 1  
  
Light soaked in through the slightly open shutters of the room, draping little spears of yellow over the blankets of the bed. The dark brown coverlet shifted a bit as the form under it rolled over and a soft groan came from within its folds. A hand stretched out and waved around for a second, then slipped back under. Incoherent mumbling rustled itself free from the now dimly lit bedspread.  
  
After a few minutes of mumbling about 'the sun and its death light' the blanket was tossed back and the form of a young woman sat up, running her hands through thick curly auburn hair that fell to her shoulders. Hands groped for the cord to the curtain and pulled them tightly shut, only the holes in the thin fabric letting in light. A grunt accompanied the young woman as she stood, heading for the bath.  
  
"Eleia? Hey in there? Are you up yet?" came a call from outside the door, a knock coming soon after.  
  
A muffled 'yeah' settled the matter as the sound of water pouring into the tub ended the conversation. She peeled off the bedclothes she wore and settled into the tub, pouring cup after cup of water over her head. Hey, the bath came with the room, what harm could it do to use it, eh? The warm water soothed the aching in her muscles, though soon it would be of no use, they were to be off today, leaving the city they had finally stopped in after almost 3 weeks of desolate desert villages. Not incredibly fun.  
  
Eleia wrapped a towel around her and made way back to her room. Her signature clothes lay neatly over a chair, a white camisole, black sheer long sleeved shirt, black pants and a long gray trench coat with black boots sitting underneath. They fit perfectly over the slim form, hugging tight. Curly auburn hair was tied back into a tight bun, loose ends falling out to graze the collar of the coat.  
  
Suddenly, the door swung open, a man dressed in a solid black shirt, pants, jacket and boots standing in the doorway. His black hair was pulled into a low ponytail at the base of his neck; a smile settled itself on his thin lips. His complexion was pale, odd for a man who spends most his time hiking the desert, but pale nonetheless. Deep blue eyes focused themselves on her form, watching as she pulled a silver chain over her head, the cross charm dangling above her heart. He smiled, himself being a priest.  
  
"I'm ready, alright?" Eleia said, feigning annoyance at him.  
  
He chuckled to himself as another man joined him at his side. White blonde hair fell in wispy bangs over a tanned forehead. His green eyes looked from the other man back to the girl, an eyebrow raised.  
  
"So, we're going where again?" the blonde asked, crossing his arms.  
  
"Well, I thought we'd head to New Oregon, you know, see if anyone's heard anything." Said Eleia, walking toward them, a pair of sunglasses now covering her hazel eyes.  
  
"I know we talked about it last night, Crichton. Or did that night's sleep of yours totally wipe your brain?" said the priest, narrowing his eyes in a playful way.  
  
"You know what, Leviathan? I think it's time you just recede back into your little quiet world there so we can get going, if we leave now it won't get really hot for a few hours and we want to get as far as we can while being as cool as we can." Crichton said, turning around, making his turquoise cape brush the floor.  
  
The other two nodded and walked out of the room, closing the heavy wooden door behind them. Crichton and Leviathan proceeded in front of Eleia, both of them with their hands over knives and a gun respectively.  
  
"Hopefully no one will decide to take up bounty hunting this early in the morning, I don't think I'm up to hopping around to keep from getting shot." Crichton mumbled, pushing open the swinging doors into the empty saloon.  
  
They each breathed a sigh of relief, arm dropping from their weapons. Eleia sighed and started walking forward, in front of her 'bodyguards'. Both of them skilled weapon handlers, Crichton in Daggers, Leviathan in the Powers of God and the Gun. Both were a force to reckoned with solely and even more of a threat together, practically unbeatable.  
  
The three travelers looked to each other and shrugged, then walked out into the very VERY bright sunshine of the early western morning. 


End file.
